The Mechanic
by 2originalcents
Summary: Cartman is destined to become a mechanic, as foretold at the end of My Future Self 'n' Me. Though it's not too bad of a future after all.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm excited about this one. I have a lot written out and hopefully it should be done soon so you guys should be getting this fic in full pretty soon. I'm still working out the ending, but I can't imagine it being much longer than what I already have written.**

**Anywho, enjoy! I own nothing and reviews are nice!**

Cartman was in the waiting room of the auto shop he worked at. He was leaning against a chair, legs up on the table in front of him, donut in hand as he was watching a football game. His peaceful moment was disturbed by a car honk. He turned and could see he had a customer. He sighed and got up, but not quickly enough it seemed since the new customer honked their horn again, about six to seven times in succession.

"All right, all right, I heard you the first eighty fucking times you honked," Cartman complained, walking towards the car.

The new customer was bent over in the car, his upper body was through the driver's window, it seemed like he was trying to get something.

"I'm sorry! I was trying to reach for my wallet and I hit the horn with my elbow!" He said as he pulled himself out, triumphant that he had his wallet in hand.

"Butters?" Cartman said. It had been years since he last saw Butters, but it was definitely him. He was wearing khakis, a grey sweater vest over a light blue shirt, and he had glasses now.

"Eric!" Butters said excitedly, a huge grin on his face. He made to go hug his old friend but Cartman put his hands up, stopping him in his tracks.

"Sorry, these clothes are dirty, I don't want to put oil stains on your clothes," Eric explained.

"Oh, okay," Butters replied, he kept smiling. "It's so great to see you! It's been years."

"Yeah, like, almost ten." Cartman thought about it. He hadn't really seen Butters once high school ended and the blond left for Berkley, and then he stayed there for post-grad. "Are you back visiting your parents or something?"

Butters shook his head. "I got a job here."

"Weren't you living it up in California? Why the fuck would you come back here?"

"Well, that was always the plan. I always wanted to come back and help kids here."

"Child psychologist, right?" Cartman asked, pointing at Butters. He was pretty sure that's what the blond does, but he wanted to make sure.

"Yep," Butters nodded.

"So, what's up with your car?" Cartman asked, changing subjects.

"Oh, well I just got here like, two days ago, and I drove here. Half way through the drive the check engine light came on, and the steering wheel would randomly freeze, and I'm pretty sure it's dripping oil…"

Cartman asked Butters to open the hood so he could have a look. He told the blond he could watch tv in the waiting room but Butters stayed with him, talking about old times and whatnot.

"Yeah, you're not getting your car back today," Cartman said around five, close to closing time. He was wiping oil from his hands.

"Oh well," Butters shrugged. "Good thing I live so close to here I can just walk."

"Or I can drive you to your place," Eric said, as if that was the more obvious answer.

"I don't want to inconvenience you," Butters quickly said.

Cartman shook his head, what inconvenience? He had nothing to do that day anyways.

Butters waited outside next to Eric's truck for Cartman to close up shop. Eric locked up everything and in his office he changed from his greasy work clothes into a clean shirt and red flannel.

"Do you need to be somewhere?" Cartman asked as he unlocked his truck.

"No." Butters shrugged and shook his head. "I've just been busy unpacking boxes."

"Want to go get some beers?" Eric asked as they entered his truck.

"Sure."


	2. Chapter 2

**Enjoy. I own Nothing. Reviews are nice.**

The bar was filled with men coming out of work, and Butters could only stay in there for so long before the cigarette smoke started getting to him.

"We can go outside, if you want," Eric said after Butters' third coughing fit.

Butters nodded. They grabbed their drinks and headed towards Eric's truck.

Cartman grabbed a blanket from his backseat and placed it on the bed of his truck so the two could sit on top of it and their butts wouldn't freeze from the metal. They had their backs leaned up against the back window of the truck.

Butters kept pointing up to the sky, telling Eric different constellations. "And that's Orion's belt. And that's Gemini! I can never see those stars in the city."

Cartman turned to look at Butters. He forgot how excited the blond could get over such simple things.

"This is so much better than sitting in that stuffy bar," Butters said, turning to Eric. "What is it?" He asked, seeing Cartman staring at him.

Eric leaned over, cupping Butters face with one hand and kissed him. Butters initial reaction was to kiss him back, but soon he realized what was happening and pushed Cartman away.

"Wait, no Eric," Butters said, pulling away.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid, you just got here," Eric stuttered out.

"No, it's not that, it's just that… I'm engaged," Butters confessed, scooting himself off the truck.

"What?" Cartman asked in disbelief. "Why didn't you say that earlier? Being engaged is something you say when catching up with friends!" He shouted out of embarrassment.

"I know. I don't know why I didn't say anything earlier. I have to go now," Butters finished, hopping off the truck.

"Can I at least drive you to your place?" Eric called out.

"No, it's fine, I'll walk," Butters said, waving Eric's offer away.

Cartman watched Butters walk off, then sat back against his truck and sighed. Of course Butters was engaged. Of course he's moved on. He was the only loser who was still stuck in the past, still stuck in this dump. Eric grabbed his bottle of beer and hurled it at the lamppost near his car. After seeing it shatter he hopped off the bed of his truck and drove home.


	3. Chapter 3

**My poor babies.**

**Anywho, Enjoy. Reviews are nice. I own nothing.**

Butters was arguing with himself all morning if he should go get his car. Eric would be there, but he really needed his car. He ultimately decided they were both adults, and he actually really did need his car so he just need to bite the bullet and see Cartman.

When he arrived at the shop he could see his car parked in the lot rather than inside the garage. Good, he just needed to pay, grab his keys, and he could be on his way.

He walked into the garage and knocked on the office door, taking a deep breath, but the man who opened wasn't Eric.

"Can I help you?" He was an older man, probably the owner.

"Uh, yeah, I brought my car in yesterday and I came to pick it up," Butters answered.

"Name?" The man said going into his office and grabbing a clipboard.

"Leopold Stotch."

"Uh… I have here a Butters Stotch?" The man replied, growing annoyed.

"Oh, yeah, that's me. My friend was the one working here yesterday, I guess he wrote down my nickname instead…" Butters trailed off. Eric had actually written Butters instead of Leopold, the blond felt a tingle in his stomach.

"You're friends with that good for nothing shithead?" The man said as he grabbed Butters' keys off a hook in the car and wrote him up a receipt. "You mind telling me where he is, then? He just called in sick, but I know he's lying."

"Oh," Butters was startled by how this man spoke about Eric. "I don't know where he is, I just left my car with him and that's it. He did look a bit unwell yesterday, though." Even after all these years Butters still felt compelled to defend Cartman.

"Yeah, I bet," the man said gruffly. "That'll be seventy-five bucks."

Butters quickly paid and was on his way. He drove his car around town, checking to make sure it was indeed fixed, and it was. Butters wished he could have thanked Eric in person, but a knot began to form in his stomach when he thought about how he skipped work. He skipped so he wouldn't have to see him.

Butters should have told him right away that he was engaged, that was the whole point of moving back to South Park, so he could start his family with his wife-to-be. But seeing Eric, he had actually forgotten about all of that. He was so excited to see his old friend, he wanted to know what he was up to, and either way Eric never asked. Neither asked about the other's relationship status, maybe because they didn't want to hear it.

About two weeks later Cartman bumped into Butters at the grocery store. Butters was busy looking at canned vegetables to notice him. Eric wasn't done shopping but he paid for what he already had in his cart and headed to his car. He groaned, laying his forehead against the steering wheel. Butters wasn't visiting, he was moving back, was he suppose to avoid him for the rest of his life?

A part of Eric knew he needed to go back in, at least finish shopping, but he started his car and drove off.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm getting this done faster than I was expecting so...**

**Enjoy, I own nothing, reviews are nice!**

It had been three month since Butters moved back so South Park. His fiancé hadn't joined him yet, she kept getting stalled up by her research, but Butters was growing impatient, and truth be told a bit concerned. One of her research partner's he never trusted, and now he left her alone with him. Butters decided to drive back to Berkley to see her, but the week he decided this, his car began acting up again.

"You have got to be kidding me," Butters moaned when he saw the check engine light go off in his car. Did Eric do a bad job or did he just need a new car? It was pretty old.

Either way Butters had to take it in if he wanted to drive back to Berkley.

When he drove into the auto shop he could see Cartman busy working on another car's engine.

"Hey, Eric," Butters called, walking over to Eric. He looked around but it seemed like they were alone.

"Hey," Cartman responded, not turning away from the car he was working on.

"How are you?" Butters asked.

Cartman looked up to meet his eyes. He looked upset.

"Is your car fucking up?" Cartman asked by way of answer.

"Uh, well, the check engine light came on again, and I was planning on driving back to Berkley soon so I just want to make sure everything's okay," Butters explained.

"I'm almost done, here, I'll check your car out after. You can sit in the waiting room if you want," Cartman replied nonchalantly, his attention returning to the car at hand.

"Okay," Butters said, walking toward the waiting room. Eric clearly didn't want to speak to him.

Butters walked into the room. He sat and watched the tv for a while, but was growing antsy. He noticed the photos that were hanging off the wall and stood to look at them. There was a particularly beautiful shot of the town, whoever took it must have been high up a hill or something.

"Hey," Cartman called, startling Butters. "You always bring your car late, so it's not going to be ready until tomorrow again."

Butters nodded and went back to looking at the photo. "That's okay. This is a really lovely photo of the town, where did you guys get it?"

"I took it," Eric answered, walking over and standing next to Butters.

"Really?" Butters turned to look at Cartman, admiration in his eyes. "Eric, this is a beautiful shot. Did you take the others too?" Butters asked, pointing at the other photos around them, all from different parts of South Park.

"Yeah. My boss really likes them and he insisted on hanging some in the waiting room," Cartman shrugged.

"Your boss who called you a shithead?" Butters blurted out.

"He's not the first and won't be the last person to call me that." Eric smiled. "When did he call me that?" Cartman added, confused.

"When I came to pick up my car the first time," Butters answered.

Eric nodded, not wanting to talk about that day.

"Have you ever sold your photographs? Or thought about doing it seriously? You could probably get a lot of work freelancing," Butters continued.

Cartman scoffed. "Of course not, no one would pay for these."

Butters eyed Eric. He certainly wasn't the person he remembered. That endless stream of confidence, of bravado, Cartman always had as a kid finally dried up. Butters bit his lip, he missed that Eric.

"Can I buy this one?" Butters asked, pointing at the photograph in front of them. "I know you said these were for your boss, but I really love it."

"I still have the negative, I can print another one out for you if you want."

"Negative? That means this was shot on film?" Butters asked.

Cartman nodded.

Butters shook his head in disbelief, a smile on his lips. "That would be great, Eric! I want a large print like this one. How much?"

This time Cartman shook his head. "Nothing, I don't charge."

"But you have to charge," Butters insisted, looking again at the photograph "Eric, I can only imagine how much work went into making this. The hike alone to get to this spot-"

"I drove," Cartman interrupted, rolling his eyes. "And, it's not that much work, I mean, it's not even work, it's just a dumb hobby."

Butters turned to look at Eric. "I want to pay you."

Eric felt a little insulted. Did Butters insist on paying him so it was clear everything was just business between them? But he conceded and shrugged.

"Fine, if you want to pay you can pay," Cartman walked out of the waiting room. "I'll have it for you tomorrow along with your car."

"How much do you want?" Butters called out.

"However much you think it's worth." Cartman called back.

This time Eric didn't offer Butters a ride home.

Butters walked off and Cartman waited until he couldn't see the blond anymore to close up the shop.


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy. Reviews are nice. I own nothing.**

"Why do you always come so late?" Cartman grumbled. He was in the waiting room watching tv again when Butters knocked on the doorframe.

"I can only come after work," Butters shrugged.

Eric stood and stretched. He walked past Butters and into the office to retrieve his keys.

"Thanks Eric," Butters said grabbing his keys.

"And don't worry about paying for this," Cartman continued as he closed the office door behind him and ushered Butters to his car.

"Oh, uh…" Butters wanted to protest, but thought better of it. "Thank you."

Cartman smiled. His injured pride from yesterday recuperating.

Butters was about to ask for his print when he caught a glimpse of it in his back seat, framed. Giddy, Butters quickly unlocked his door and sat in the backseat, admiring the photograph again.

"You didn't have to frame it, Eric," Butters said, turning to Eric who was leaning an arm against the door of the car.

"It's fine," Cartman replied. "I wanted to frame it. It makes it easier to move around."

Butters ran a hand in front of it and then got out of the car again.

"Okay, well this is what I wanted to pay before knowing you were going to frame it, now I think I owe you more," Butters said as he pulled out a clean, folded up bill from his pocket and handed it to Eric.

"Butters," Cartman growled when he noticed it was a hundred dollar bill. He put his hand up, not wanting to accept it. "Butters, that's way too much. What the fuck?"

"No it's not! If anything this is too little. I mean, you have to factor the time and energy spent, the chemicals needed to develop it since it's a traditional medium, not to mention it's a pretty big print. And now the frame. Please, Eric, this is how much I owe you," Butters insisted, extending his hand so Cartman would take the bill.

"How do you know all of that?" Cartman asked, still not taking the money.

"I googled it." Butters hand was still extended.

Cartman sighed, but he took the bill from Butters hand. He looked down at it momentarily before pocketing it.

"So what, just business, you don't want to accept gifts from me or something?" Cartman asked, agitated. "Or what? You feel bad for me and think I need the charity?"

"What? No, of course not," Butters defended himself. He knitted his eyebrows, not knowing where this was coming from.

"Whatever." Cartman scractched his head and looked away. "Have a safe trip I guess." He turned to walk back to the shop.

Butters wasn't sure if he should just leave and let things lie or go after him.

"Eric," Butters called, catching up to him. "It's not business or anything. We're friends. And photography is… that's what you're good at, it's your skill. You should be paid for it. 'If you're good at something never do it for free,'" Butters quoted. "Plus, I accepted the free car check without a problem."

"Later Butters," Cartman said again, not wanting to hear what Butters had to say.

Butters stood and stared at Eric for a moment longer, but he turned and left. At least he said what he wanted to say.

Butters didn't drive back to Berkley after all. He wasn't able to get the time off from work he was hoping for and either way his fiancé told him not to bother with the trip. She was finishing up and soon she would be in South Park with him.


	6. Chapter 6

**I actually finished this fic today! Well, I still need to write a better conclusion, but for the most part it's done, so that's exciting. **

**Anyway, enjoy, I own nothing, and reviews are nice!**

Another month had past, and Butters was relaxing watching some television when there was a loud banging at his door.

"Eric?" Butters didn't expect the brunette to show up at his door. "How'd you get my address?"

"We had it in the shop records." Cartman answered, but he was clearly pissed off. "Do you mind telling me what this is?"

Eric shoved a large manila folder into Butters' face. Butters grabbed the folder and opened it, reading the letter he found inside.

"How did fucking National Geographic get a hold of my photograph?" Cartman shouted.

"Eric congratulations!" Butters beamed.

"Did you send that photo in without telling me?" Cartman continued. He didn't yell but he spoke sternly.

"Why don't you come in?" Butters invited him.

Eric looked around, like he was about to do something bad, but he walked in and took of his coat.

"I'll make hot chocolate," Butters said, walking into his kitchen.

Cartman looked around the house. It seemed cozy, Butters really knew how to make a house a home. For a moment he forgot why he was there, but then he saw his photo hanging on the wall behind his dinner table and all the anger came rushing back.

"I'm sorry, Eric," Butters said as he sat down with him at the kitchen table, hot chocolate in hand. "I should have told you that I was going to submit it to their contest, but you would have said no."

"Did you take a photo of it?" Cartman asked. Butters nodded. "It must have been a good one. But they're still asking me for a digital copy." Eric looked at the paper work that was sent to him. He wasn't going to get much money, but his photo was going to be printed in the magazine.

"I just wanted you to see how good your photography is. You could easily make a career of it," Butters said, placing a hand on Eric's forearm.

Cartman looked down at the hand and then at Butters.

"Sorry," Butters said, removing his hand.

"Well it's not like I can take the submission back," Eric said.

Butters smiled. Of course Cartman could take the submission back if he really wanted to, but deep down he wanted this too.

"It's getting late, I should go," Eric said suddenly, putting everything away and finishing up his hot chocolate. He got up and walked to the door, Butters followed him.

"I'm really sorry that I sent in your photo without your permission, but I'm glad I did it all the same."

Cartman was done putting on his coat and put his hand on the door handle, but stopped.

"I'm actually glad you sent it in, too," Cartman admitted, smiling.

Eric turned to look at Butters, he hesitated a bit, but again he cupped Butters face and kissed him, much more fervently than the first time. Butters didn't back away, he leaned into the kiss, pulling Eric closer to him by grabbing to the hem of his coat. Cartman dropped the folder that was in his hand and now put both hands on either side of the blond's face, he didn't know if he would ever get this opportunity again.

Butters could feel his whole body tremble under Eric's touch. Kissing him felt like nothing he ever experienced before. Just kissing the brunette felt better than the most intimate touch he shared with his fiancé, or with any past lover he had. It felt so right. It felt like home.

Cartman pulled back, but Butters stepped forward, not wanting break away yet. Gently Eric pushed the blond away.

Eric picked up his folder and walked out the door without another word.

Butters stood in place, pressing fingers to his lips and attempting to even his breathing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Enjoy, I own nothing, and reviews are nice!**

Butters let two days pass before going to see Cartman at the shop. Eric was in the middle of a shouting match with some guy, so Butters waited in the car until it was done. The man drove off and Cartman made his way into the office. Butters got out of the car and again knocked the doorframe of the office.

Eric was looking down at some papers on the desk, but jumped at the noise.

"Jesus Christ, Butters," Eric sighed, covering his eyes with his hand.

"That guy was really pissed off," Butters said, smiling.

"Just bitching about how I was overpricing him," Cartman said in a mocking voice. "Asshole."

Butters walked into the office and sat on the tattered chair facing the desk.

"We should talk," he said.

Eric stopped ruffling papers. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done what I did." He turned to look at Butters.

The blond shook his head. "I don't want you to be sorry, I want to know why you did it. Why did you kiss me that first night and why did you kiss me again? If my memory serves me right you stopped talking to me at the end of junior year. I'm just confused, where is this affection coming from?"

"Can we maybe not talk about this here?" Eric asked, shooting a glance at the door. "I get off in an hour, I can pick you up at your place and we can talk somewhere more private."

"You don't want to talk at my house?" Butters asked.

"I think that be a little fucked up," Cartman replied, thinking about Butters' fiancé for once.

"Okay, I'll wait for you then, but if you don't come, I know where you work," Butters threatened before heading out.

Just a little after five there was a knock on Butters' door.

"Okay," Eric said, nodding his head towards his truck. Butters grabbed his coat, locked the door, and followed Cartman to his truck.

After a quiet half hour car ride Eric stopped the car and got up. Butters could see they had driven up a hill and when he followed Cartman out of the car her realized where he was.

"This is where you took that photo," Butters said.

"I told you it wasn't that big of a deal," Eric answered, looking down at the town. He then turned and sat on the hood of his truck. He patted the space next to him so Butters would join.

"You want to know why I stopped talking to you?" Cartman asked once Butters sat down. The blond nodded. "It's because I was in love with you, and I couldn't admit it."

Butters was startled by this revelation, and by how nonchalantly Eric said it. "What?"

"It's been ten years, a lot of shit has happened since then, and when I think back it's so fucking ridiculous to me that I couldn't just admit this. That instead I just stopped talking to you," Cartman leaned his elbows onto his knees. "Then you got accepted to Berkley, which was awesome, but I felt so embarrassed for myself. And it wasn't just you, the guys got out of this town too, even Kenny got out. But I stayed." He put his head in his hands. Ten years was an incredibly long time, and he had been so lonely throughout it all.

"I loved you too," Butters whispered. "I was crazy about you, but then we just didn't talk, and then I left…" He sniffled and dabbed at an eye from under his glasses.

Eric relished hearing Butters say he was once in love with him too.

"You didn't mention you were with anyone. And just seeing you brought everything flooding back," Cartman said. "This is all my own fault. I deserve this for being such a fucking prick as a kid."

Butters laughed. "Who wasn't a prick back then, Eric?"

"We shouldn't talk anymore after this, Butters. I can't just be your friend," Eric looked at Butters, his eyes were glistening.

Butters leaned over, placing a hand on Eric's knee he kissed the brunette.

Cartman sat up and wrapped his arms around the blond.

The two held and kissed each other for a long time. Neither wanted to pull away, they wanted to make up for all the lost time.

"I'm still in love with you," Cartman whispered between kisses. "I never stopped."

Butters began kissing him harder. If this had just happened ten years earlier, if Eric had just kissed him ten years earlier, if he had just had the courage to kiss him ten years earlier, things would have been different, everything could have been so different.

Butters pulled away but pressed his forehead against Eric's.

"Okay," Butters nodded.

"Okay?" Eric asked.

"What do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?" Cartman had no idea where Butters was getting at.

"I'm going to break off my engagement," Butters said, nodding, his mind was made up.

"What? No, Butters, you can't do that," Eric pulled back. What the fuck did he do?

Butters smiled and pulled Eric close again to kiss him.

"I can't marry her," Butters said when they separated again. "Not if I know you still love me."

"Butters, who cares about me? You have a new life now."

The blond smiled, Eric really had changed, it seemed so surreal. He wrapped his arms around the brunette's neck.

"I still love you too, Eric."

Cartman put his hands on Butters' waist, but he didn't feel right. "But this is so fast, Butters. What if it doesn't work out? What if you're throwing everything out the window for some flippant rush of emotions?"

Again Butters kissed Eric, then shook his head. "Eric, I've know my fiancé for three years, I've known you my whole life. I knew you at what was probably your worst, and I fell in love with you then. I'm not throwing anything away, I'm doing exactly what I need to do."

"I'm a mechanic, Butters, you're… educated. Why would you trade down?"

Butters pulled away. Cartman thought he won, he made the blond listen to reason.

Butters thought about how hard Cartman was back peddling. Was he questioning his love? Did Eric just think he loved him because he was unattainable, but now that he was within reach he didn't really love or want him?

But he looked into Eric's eyes. No. He loved him. He wanted to make sure Butters wasn't making a mistake, he was looking out for the blond's best interest.

"I don't care, Eric," Butters said deliberately, running a hand through the brunette's hair. "You make a living doing something so necessary, and you saved my ass twice with it already. And not only that but you're an amazing photographer if you just believed people when they told you that.

"Do you want to be with me?" Butters asked after a pause.

Eric nodded his head. "Yes."

"That's all I need to hear."

The two continued to kiss and hold each other until the sun had gone down.

"I should call my fiancé," Butters said at last.

"Are you sure about this?" Cartman asked one last time.

"I'm positive."

Eric drove Butters home and the two agreed to see each other the next day.

When Butters entered his house it was to discover a tear-filled voice message on his cell phone (he had left in such a hurry earlier he had accidentally left it on his coffee table).

Turns out Butters' suspicions of that research partner were completely founded. His fiancé had loathed the idea of moving to a small town and decided to stay with this other man, who promised to keep her near the bay area.

Though he reprimanded himself, Butters couldn't help but feel a pang of pain at this infidelity. Why couldn't she just be honest with him if she never wanted to move to South Park to begin with? Was she just going string him along and let him settle down here until she finally told him this surprise?

Well, he called her back, and half out of good faith, half out of pettiness, Butters told her the truth about his own situation. She laughed, her guilt slightly alleviated.

"Well this just worked out perfectly for both of us, didn't it?" She said, laughing through tears. Butters' own faithlessness had still hurt.

"Yeah, I guess it did," Butters agreed.

"I really did love you," she told him.

"I really did love you, too," Butters replied.

"No hard feelings?"

"Absolutely no hard feelings. Uhm, one last question, though."

"Shoot."

"Are you still working on your research or was that a lie too?"

"That was the truth! I'm still working on it now, this stupid thing never ends!"

Butters laughed. Both agreed to remain in contact, then he hung up.

Butters laid in his bed that night replaying the events of the day. So he and Eric were meant to be if his engagement ended that smoothly. He cuddled closer to his pillow, better late than never, he supposed. It was finally time for he and Eric to be together.

* * *

**So I reserved my main comments for the end so as not to spoil this chapter for y'all.**

**A few things: this chapter shows that I can't sustain love triangles (I hate them that's mostly why) and I'm incapable of keeping Butters and Cartman apart.**

**And lastly, I stand by my depiction of Cartman in this and later chapters, so there ya go. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Enjoy, I own nothing, reviews are nice.**

Butters was just getting off work at South Park elementary and unlocking his car when he heard a honk behind him. He turned to see Eric waiting for him in his truck. Smiling, Butters walked over.

"Hey there," Butters said, getting into the truck.

"Hey, just thought I'd surprise you. I can drive you back here tomorrow," Eric said, leaning over to kiss the blond.

"How did you know I'd be here?" Butters asked.

"Don't you always work here?"

The blond shook his head. "No, I have my office in downtown. Normally I work one-on-one with individual kids. But I also work adjacent with the elementary and middle school so when the counselors don't know what to do, they call me."

"And they called you today?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't that big of a deal. This little girl was just acting out because her parents are getting a divorce."

Cartman chuckled. "Good to know you're so dismissive of kids' problems."

"You know what I mean!" Butters swatted Eric's arm, but laughed as well. "It could be worst, but she's not the first or last kid whose parents are getting a divorce. The counselor could have taken care of it."

"Huh, and this entire time I thought you took on Mackey's job," Cartman said.

"He's still there, actually. I think he's going to work until he dies," Butters told him. "It's pretty weird working with someone who was working when you were a kid."

"I bet," Cartman agreed. "So how did last night go?"

Butters told him about the conversation he had and Eric howled with laughter.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry she was cheating on you, but…" He got caught up with another fit of giggles.

"That's basically the response I was expecting," Butters said, nodding along. "It was ending anyway."

"Are you okay?" Eric asked.

"Yeah," Butters replied.

"It's okay to be upset, you were engaged with her, regardless of whether or not you were going to break it off anyway."

"Emotions are weird. No matter how much you intellectualize something, they're still going to do what the want to do." Butters sighed. "Where are we going?"

"I was thinking I could cook you dinner at my place."

"You cook?"

"Hell yeah," Cartman replied, insulted Butters would even question his skills.

Butters smiled, excited.

Eric's apartment was in a rundown complex at the edge of town. The elevator didn't work so they had to walk up the four long flights of stairs to his apartment.

"Sorry," Cartman mumbled to Butters, embarrassed.

"It's fine," Butters smiled.

Eric unlocked the door and let Butters in. There was a bed in the living room where the couch should have been. In front there was a plasma tv, and either sides of it there were bookshelves filled with videogames and what looked liked photo albums. Just past the wall with the bookshelves was the kitchen, a little nook in the wall thing with essentials: fridge, stove, and sink. There was also a small table. There were two doors at the end of the apartment, one was open and Butters could see it was the bathroom, the other was closed.

"What's in there, if you don't mind my asking?" Butters asked, nodding towards the closed door as he took off his coat.

"Oh, that's a bedroom, but I converted it to a darkroom. That's why the bed's in the living room," Eric answered, throwing his and Butters' coat on a chair that was in the corner.

"You converted what should be your bedroom into a darkroom and you still consider photography just a hobby?" Butters turned to look at Cartman.

Eric shrugged.

"This is really good," Butters said, swallowing the bite he had in his mouth.

Cartman had made them steak with a side of vegetables and red wine.

"You say that like you're surprised," Eric said, eating a mouthful.

"I just didn't think you would have so many talents."

"I don't know how lame this is, but honestly this is why working at the auto shop is pretty great. I don't have to take work home and I can spend my free time doing whatever, like learning how to cook." He took a sip of wine.

"That sounds lovely, actually. It hasn't happened here yet, but there have been times when I've gone home late, dealing with a particular child. And even on an emotional level, sometimes their stories just stick with you all day."

"Why did you want to be a child psychologist anyway?" Cartman asked Butters.

"To be honest, it was kind of inspired by you," Butters said, hiding a smile.

"Wow, that's insulting."

Butters tilted his head back and forth, that did seem a bit insulting. "I mean, I just realized that when we were little kids I liked hanging out with you so much because I never really knew what you were thinking. You made me interested in how kids' minds function."

"Nice save," Eric said, popping a piece of asparagus in his mouth.

"Thanks," Butters smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is the rated M ch I was talking about in the summary so youngin's avert your gaze, skip ahead, and go to youth group (How strict are those ratings should I change this one to M, idk).**

**Anyway, Enjoy, Reviews are nice, I own nothing.**

The two finished their meals and made their way to the bed, sitting with their backs against the wall and making out. Between kisses Eric gently removed Butters' glasses and placed it on the nightstand behind him.

"How blind are you now?" Cartman teased.

"I'm near-sighted, so I can see you perfectly at this distance," Butters answered, pulling Eric close to kiss him again.

Eric's hands went to the blond's shirt and he began to unbutton it. With that off, Butters went to remove the brunette's shirt. Gently Cartman pushed himself forward, and with an arm wrapped around Butters he eased him down on his back.

Eric nibbled on Butters' neck, and he could hear the blond moaning underneath him. He started trailing kisses down Butters' chest and stomach. Once he arrived at the top of the blond's pants, he made quick work of it and pulled everything off until Butters was lying naked on the bed. Eric leaned down again to put Butters' in his mouth, causing the blond to gasp and arch his back.

"Eric…" Butters sighed, feeling Cartman's tongue lick every part of his member.

Soon Cartman pulled away and stood up off the bed to remove his own pants. Quickly he placed himself on top of Butters again, but reached for his nightstand. From the drawer he pulled a long strip of condoms and bottle of lube. Hastily, Cartman ripped a condom from the strip and opened the small pack with his mouth.

"Safety first," he said with heavy breath, putting the condom on. "Wouldn't want to get you pregnant."

Butters laughed at that. "You can't get pregnant your first time, Eric. Don't you know nothing about sex?"

The two were laughing and Cartman leaned over again to kiss Butters' lips.

"You know," Butters started, a bit more serious. "We can both go to make sure we're fine and clean and once we check out we won't have to use condoms anymore."

"Sounds like a plan," Eric agreed, putting a hefty amount of lube on his hand.

He spread Butters' legs apart and covered his entrance in lube, he even inserted two fingers to make sure it got everywhere. Butters groaned at the sudden intrusion.

"So you're definitely not a virgin to this," Eric noted.

Butters shook his head. He had boyfriends in college, and a few of his girlfriends were really into pegging. But Cartman didn't need to know any of that.

Cartman let go of Butters and pumped himself a few times, wiping the remaining lube on himself in the process. He pushed himself forward and placed his hands on the bed, on either side of Butter's face.

"You ready for this?" Cartman asked, burning Butters' expression into his memory. The blond nodded.

Without another moment of hesitation, Eric entered Butters, causing the blond to gasp and moan. Cartman leaned down to kiss him and he quickened his pace. Butters pulled him down even closer until the brunette's forearms were the only thing still holding him up. The blond wanted to feel Eric's weight on top of him, the pressure exciting him even more.

Butters wrapped an arm around Eric's neck, his other hand above him. Cartman reached up and laced his fingers around Butters'. Eric had been with a few guys over the years, but it was never serious and more often then not they were just one night stands. Butters felt so different. He wasn't just someone he was fucking because he felt horny, he could actually feel his whole body be pulled towards the blond. He felt like he was on fire, like his heart was going to explode, and every part of his skin that Butters caressed with his hand felt like lighting struck it.

"I love you, Butters," Eric sighed into the blond's ear.

"I love you too, Eric," Butters moaned.

It seemed as though both their bodies had been waiting for this moment, and they both came together.

Eric fell onto his side, an arm under Butters' head like a pillow, another over the blond's chest while they both were catching their breath.

Butters ran his hands up and down Cartman's arm. Everything was so easy with Eric. Even when they would fight as kids, they would come back together easily, neither apologizing because there was no need. They knew each other so well. Even that last year when Eric refused to acknowledge him, Butters was able to slip into that easy, avoiding Cartman as well. And now, just a few months after moving back to South Park, Butters broke off his engagement and made love to him, like nothing, like the last ten years never happened. They slid back into their old lives effortlessly.

"We should get married," Butters whispered.

"Hmm, what?" Eric chuckled.

Suddenly Butters jolted up, startling Cartman. "We should get married!"

The blond turned and pushed Eric up and down into the bed by his shoulders, just repeating "We should get married!" over and over again.

"All right, all right!" Cartman said, sitting up and holding Butters arms down to his side.

"Really?" Butters said, grinning, eyes-wide.

"You want to get married? We have sex once and suddenly you want to get married?" Cartman asked, exacerbated. He had unleashed a can of worms.

"Why not?" Butters shrugged.

"Shouldn't we date a little while longer? Get engaged? And you just broke off your previous engagement last night!" Eric reasoned.

But Butters shook his head. "If being engaged taught me nothing else it's that being engaged is dumb and pointless and just gives people a chance to get out of their marriage." He calmed down now and ran a hand through Eric's hair. "I came back here with the idea that I was going to get married and settle down. So I'm not settling with who I initially thought, I'm still ready to get married and I want to marry you!"

"Butters, I really appreciate the sentiment-"

Eric was caught off by Butters lips on his own.

"Let's get married Eric."

"And move to your place, I assume?" Cartman asked.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Butters asked. Was Eric still to prideful that the idea of living in a house he didn't pay for was too much?

"I don't want anything that was meant for someone else," Eric said, looking away.

"Nothing in that house belongs to her," Butters assured him. "I made the down payment, I moved in, I furnished it. She kept all her things because she insisted she would need them until she moved herself." Butters paused and thought about what he just said. "Huh, in retrospect I should have realized moving here was the beginning of the end."

"Butters, I don't know," Eric continued.

"Just imagine I moved here on my own, that's basically what happened! And I told you already, we ended on good terms, everything is fine," Butters kept going.

"I don't want a big wedding," Cartman said, giving up the fight.

"Okay, I don't want one either. We can just go to city hall tomorrow, get married, and that's that." Butters cupped Eric's face with his hand. "I really want to be married to you, Eric. We've already wasted so much time, I don't want to waste anymore."

Cartman wrapped Butters in his arms and pulled him close to kiss him.

"Can I turn the basement into a dark room?" He asked, grinning.

"I was just going to say you should do that," Butters smiled, kissing Eric again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Enjoy, I own nothing, and reviews are nice!**

Butters was the first to wake up the next morning, he was too excited to sleep. Eric was behind him, his arms loosely wrapped around the blond. Butters lifted Eric's hand to his mouth and kissed it before pulling himself away from the bed. He grabbed his discarded boxers and pants and put them on before entering the restroom.

Exiting the bathroom Butters went over to Eric's bookshelf and looked at the spines of the photo albums. There was a light blue album on one of the lower shelves that caught his eye. He pulled it out and opened it to see photos of himself when he was a teenager. He smiled as he sat at the edge of the bed, flipping through the album. He remembered this day. Eric had just gotten his first dslr camera, he was so excited to play with it but didn't have a model, so he bugged him at school all day until Butters finally agreed to let Eric take photos of him as long as they weren't weird.

Butters felt lips on the back of his neck.

"You have goosebumps," Eric said softly, smiling and running a hand up and down Butters' arm.

"This was a really fun day," Butters told him, pointing at a photo of himself staring out at Stark's Pond.

Cartman put his arms around Butters' torso and began kissing his neck.

"I can't believe you kept these," Butters continued, putting a hand on the nape of Eric's neck.

"Of course I kept them," Eric said, moving his head and kissing Butters' palm.

He moved to put on his boxers and then sat behind Butters so the blond was between his legs, his hands resting on the blond's hips.

The last few pages of the album were photos of Eric that Butters took.

"You messed up with the exposure rates here, that's why they came out blurry," Eric said, pointing at a photo.

"I don't know what that means," Butters said, turning to look at Eric.

Cartman got up and pulled a few albums from his shelf and sat back down behind Butters. For the next hour he was explaining to Butters what different exposures mean and what effects they can reap.

"Maybe we should take a break," Butters said, hearing Eric's stomach growl.

This time the blond insisted on making breakfast. Though Eric didn't have much breakfast food so they had to be satisfied with a simple meal of coffee, bacon, and eggs.


	11. Chapter 11

**I was actually really close to not posting this today out of laziness.**

**Enjoy the fluff! **

**Reviews are nice, I own nothing.**

Later that morning Cartman drove Butters to his house so he could change his clothes. Eric was sitting on the couch when Butters came down from his room.

"So what's the plan for today?" Cartman asked.

"City hall, duh," Butters said, joining Eric on the couch.

"So you were serious about that?" He put an arm around the blond.

"You want to marry me, right, Eric?" Butters stuttered. Eric's resistance began to worry him.

Cartman kissed Butters' temple. "Yeah, I do. We're going so fast though, I feel like we're skipping a bunch of important steps."

"Do you want to do all those important steps? Or do you just feel like we should do all those important steps?"

Eric thought about that. He wasn't really sure.

"You know, Eric," Butters continued. "Last night, after you'd fallen asleep, I was thinking about a lot of things. It's pointless because things played out like they did but I was thinking about junior year of high school. Just before you stopped talking to me, we had gone camping with the fellas, and we were sitting alone around the fire while they were God knows where, and you wanted to tell me something."

Eric didn't interrupt, he was just listening to the blond. He vividly recalled the moment Butters was describing.

"We were sitting really close together, sharing a bottle of wine you swiped from your mom, and we were laughing about some stupid thing," Butters stopped talking and bit his lip. "You turned to me, you look like you wanted to tell me something. I asked you what was it and you said nothing, and left it at that. I was feeling a bit tipsy so I rested my head on your shoulder, and you rested yours on top of mine. And that was one of the last times we hung out together alone."

"You have a really good memory, Butters," Cartman commented when he was done.

Butters let out a small laugh. "It's because you have no idea how often I've replayed that moment in my head, just picking it apart, thinking what I could have done different, trying to look for signs that you felt how I felt. I just remember being so in love with you in that moment, I should have kissed you. I should have done something-"

"I would have pushed you away if you had," Cartman said flatly.

"Why?" Butters turned to look at him, pain in his eyes.

"Because that was the moment I decided I couldn't spend another moment with you," Eric answered, playing with Butters' hair. "I was so close to kissing you that night. Everything was so perfect, and I was so happy. I probably would have, but when you asked me what was wrong, I snapped out of the moment. I realized what I was thinking, what I was about to do, and I needed to distance myself from it."

Butters thought about what Eric just told him. "I don't think you would have pushed me away."

"Actually, it's funny you brought up that moment," Cartman said. "Because the reason I kissed you that first night we were hanging out was because it made me think about it. I guess I wanted to make up for that night."

Butters turned to look at Eric. He smiled and leaned over to kiss him.

"This is so silly, but I think I'll always regret the fact that you weren't my first," Butters said.

"Me too," Eric replied, leaning his forehead against Butters'.

"Eric," Butters turned away. "Those steps aren't important. Dating isn't important, being proposed to isn't important, being engaged isn't important. What is important is that we've loved each other for a long time now, and if you're okay with it, we should go get married today."

Cartman thought about what Butters was saying. Six months ago he practically accepted the fact that he was going to be alone forever. But Butters was in his life again, and he was going to stay put.

Eric stood up from the couch and held his hand out for Butters to grab.

"Okay, let's get married," he told the blond, smirking.


	12. Chapter 12

**Enjoy, reviews are nice, I own nothing.**

They arrived at city hall at noon and were married by two. Butters came out completely giddy, jumping up and down. Cartman was just smiling, watching him. Some twenty-eight year old, Butters was acting like a kid who was just told he was going to Disneyland.

Once they reached Eric's truck Butters put his arms around his husband's neck and kissed him.

"You know what we need? Rings," Butters said, still hanging from Eric's neck.

"We can go to the mall," Cartman suggested.

That venture was quick. Both got simply white-gold bands. Butters then led Eric to a sweetshop and bought a small, simple, white cake for them to eat later that evening.

"Don't you think we should go eat somewhere fancy, or something?" Cartman asked. "It is our wedding night."

They were both sitting on Butters' couch eating Chinese take-out. Cartman had his legs stretched on the coffee table and Butters had his legs stretched over his. The plan was to eat something fancy, but neither could figure out what they were in the mood for, and Eric was growing hungry, so they decided to rain check the fancy dinner and just get something fast and simple.

"Should we have told our parents?" Cartman asked, stuffing some chow mein into his mouth.

Butters shrugged. He had not thought about his parents, or anyone else for that matter, in the last twenty-four hours. "Probably."

"They'll figure it out eventually," Eric said.

Cartman completely moved into Butter's house a week after getting married. He loved it, the basement was huge and made a better dark room then that dinky bedroom in his old apartment. In their first year he had also sent other photographs out for publication, and almost all of them got accepted right off the bat, garnering some much needed green for the newly wed couple for minor house repairs and other home purchases. Butters kept insisting that Cartman just concentrate on photography, but the brunette had grown accustomed to the routine of the auto shop. Besides, that income was steady and sure, freelance photography was sporadic and flaky.

They told their parents. Eric's mother was absolutely thrilled; Butters' parents took some warming up. Linda had loved Butters' ex-fiance, it took her some time to come to terms with the fact that they had ended.

* * *

**Sorry if this feels so quick but there's really not much more to say. **

**I have an epilogue left and this fic will be all done.**

**I hope you guys all enjoyed the ride.**


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